Portland poet Liz Mehl was watching a documentary highlighting Fashion Week, gazing at runway models strutting in the latest designer styles, when she had an epiphany.

Why can't poetry use the same format, she wondered?

"I thought, 'I can take an analog of this and apply it to poetry,' " she explains. "I can find designers of poetry and take what they have been working on in private and show it publicly."

The result of that lightbulb moment was Poetry Press Week, which Mehl co-founded with poet Justin Rigamonti and debuted in 2013.

The third rendition of the now-biannual performance takes place Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6, at Disjecta, and features six poets each night. Instead of a traditional poetry reading, the authors behave like fashion designers, finding "models" to present their latest, unpublished work before an audience of publishers, the press and the public.

"Our goal is to get the poets' work out there, get it published and get it publicized," Mehl said. "And I promise, you will not get bored."

Katy Knowlton (left) and Coleman Stevenson perform the work of Veronica Martin at a Portland Poetry Week event.Jeremy Bircher

The poets direct the performers on how to bring their work off the page, and there's no limit to what they can do in each 10-minute performance slot. In the past, models have used music, dance and performance art to showcase the writers' words.

"It is brilliant; it is a celebration of poetry," said author Carl Adamshick, who returns as a featured poet. "This event is really lively. It is a way to shake up poetry readings, making them more engaging."

More than 200 people attended the spring/summer Poetry Press Week earlier this year, and Mehl expects a larger audience for this weekend's fall/winter presentation.

"Poets push to keep language alive," she said. "They are not only the keepers of language, but they are the avant-garde of language. Historically, poetry was in the forefront of culture. We'd like to reestablish its prominence in everyday life."